Stephen Hill of Speak Sobriety to Present
Not My Kid: A Father-Son Parent Program
Please join the Municipal Alliance of Westfield along with the Albert Anthony Kayal Foundation (AAKF) and the Matthew Thomas Toriello Memorial Fund (MTT Memorial Fund) on Wednesday, March 10th from 7 pm to 8:30 pm for the virtual program: Not My Kid: A Father-Son Parent Program with Stephen Hill of Speak Sobriety and his father, Kevin Hill. Stephen worked with Westfield High School students this past October in celebration of Red Ribbon Week and he is excited to return to Westfield to work with our parents this spring.
“It was a powerful experience speaking to over 1,700 Westfield High School students virtually, and I am thankful to the Westfield High School administration and Westfield Municipal Alliance for allowing me to do so. I truly appreciate all of the students that reached out to me personally and thanked me for speaking. I am hoping I can come speak in-person next school year.” shared Stephen.
On the evening of October 28th, Stephen spoke to over 1,700 WHS students virtually about his struggles with addiction and how he found wellness during Red Ribbon Week. Stephen also did a Q&A session with the WHS Dream Team following his large group presentation. The feedback in the following days was overwhelmingly positive. Those who got to hear Stephen’s story expressed gratitude for his honesty and transparency. The Municipal Alliance, AAKF, and MTT Memorial Fund also received several parent emails from those who didn’t get to attend asking if there would be another opportunity to hear Stephen’s story.
Stephen will be returning virtually to share a NEW evening of learning with our community on March 10th specifically designed for parents. As in October, Stephen will share his story again, however this time, the program will also include a 30 minute live Q&A session with Stephen and Stephen’s father, Kevin Hill, to address any questions parents have after hearing Stephen’s story.
Kristen Sonnek-Schmelz of the MTT Memorial Fund stresses how important these programs are to our community and hopes as many will join as possible: “Michele, the executive director of AAKF, and I both lost our brothers to opioid overdoses, Albert Kayal and Matthew Toriello. The gut-wrenching scream I let out the morning I received that phone call will forever live inside my head. It’s our hope to save other families from similar pain by building awareness through addiction education and prevention programs, and letting families know it’s ok to talk about addiction. People naturally want to help others, but they can only do so, if they know HOW. By bringing programs such as Stephen’s to Westfield, we hope to encourage an open conversation about substance abuse in our community. “
Please register to join this important community conversation with Stephen Hill and Kevin Hill, Stephen’s father, on March 10th at 7 pm by clicking on the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WT_zQygNSyqXP9CBO4MhOw
